SO MUCH HAS HAPPENED!!!!

I feel terrible because it has taken me so long to find time to blog about all that is happening!!!  My goodness, where do I begin!!??

Well, our court trip was amazing!!  We got to meet our girl face to face!!!!!!!  What a blessing she is!!  We had to work to get her to warm up to us, but once she did, it was fantastic!  The first time I saw her, my stomach jumped and I felt so much excitement I could hardly handle it!!  She stayed to the outside of the group for a while, observing everyone and seeing what she wanted to participate in.  Shawn said a cute thing, "I'm kinda happy she didn't just greet us with hugs and smiles, because we had to work to get into her world, and then when she DID smile or laugh, it was like a gift from her heart to us".  What a great way to put it!

The second day, she bee-lined right thru the kids and came right to me and hugged me and then continued to stand with her arm around me for about 8 minutes, in a sense, claiming me.  When other kids would come close, she would kind of stare them down, basically saying, "Back off, this one's mine!" :)  I loved it!  She really connected to Shawn this day too, playing tag and throwing a ball at eachother and chasing eachother!  This is a pic of us playing with her...she had just thrown the ball at Shawn and I picked it up to throw it back and she ran off, laughing.  A boy took our camera and took this pic.

Day 3 was difficult for us in so many ways.  First of all this was our last day with her until we go back to get her, which we have no idea how long that will be!  And she was acting very sad and strange.  She kept away from everyone and sat against the wall most of the time.  Which made it even harder!!  Secondly, when we got there, we played with the kids for maybe 5 minutes and then they started a routine with them of snack, songs, games, and then showers (which took almost 45 minutes) and then right to lunch!  Then Abel came to pick us up!!  I told Abel what had happened, and he worked it out for us to return to see them again later in the day!  YIPPE!!  She was happy then and back to her normal fun self, with smiles and playfulness again!  We had a GREAT short visit with her and then said our goodbyes.  I cried all the way back to the guesthouse.  It was so hard to say goodbye.  I just wanted to be able to say I would be back for her soon and we would be a forever family!!  It brings tears to my eyes even now!  I miss her so much already!

Day 4 was our court date and we did not pass because of our missing MOWA letter (all 5 other families did not pass either).  Then to the airport we went after some more business and training.

July 19th, 2 days ago, we got word that we passed court!!! 
July 21st, today, we found out we already have her birth certificate secured!  We are moving forward quickly!   Now all we need is the passport, and then they submit our case to the Embassy for a travel date.  I am very nervous about all the investigations going on right now because it may delay bringing her home if they choose us to investigate!  Sometimes more paperwork is needed, or whatever, and this can hugely delay your process.  But WE ARE PRAYING GOD IS MERCIFUL TO US AND BRINGS HER HOME QUICKLY!!